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Troubleshooting the AyrMesh Hub2

Preface

This is applicable to all the AyrMesh Hub2 units - the Hub2n, Hub2T, and Hub2x2.

The AyrMesh Gateway Hub is the one Hub in your network that is connected to a router that's connected to the Internet - there should be only ONE Gateway Hub per Network (Ayrmesh.com account). All the other Hubs (not connected to an Internet-connected router) are Remote Hubs.

Very briefly, the most common problems are cables (the cables between the power supply and the Hub, usually), power (to the power supply, or the power supply itself), and IP address conflicts, usually from trying to use a second router on your network. Make sure the cables are all good and clicked into the Hub and power supply, that the power supply light is on (and the power light on the Hub, if you can see it), and disconnect any secondary routers you may have before checking anything else.

First, check the lights on the Hub. The bottom light (power light - green) should be on constantly.

Gateway Hub

The next light up (Ethernet traffic - green) should be blinking irregularly. The top light (green) should also be on constantly, indicating the Hub is in Gateway Mode.

If no lights are showing, make sure the light on the power supply is on. If it's not, the power supply is probably dead. Check the light on the power supply - it should shine brightly and constantly, not be dim or pulsing.

If the red light or any of the other signal lights come on and stay on, the Hub is not getting an IP address from the router and is configuring itself as a Remote Hub. Check the connections to the router and make sure the router itself is working.

Remote Hub

The next light up (Ethernet traffic - green) will be off if nothing is attached to the LAN port, or blinking if something is attached. The next four lights (red, yellow, green, green from bottom to top) indicate the signal strength, and at least the red light should be on.

If no lights are showing, make sure the light on the power supply is on. If it's not, the power supply is probably dead. Check the light on the power supply - it should shine brightly and constantly, not be dim or pulsing.

If the power light is on but the red signal light is not, or if the signal lights are flashing "back and forth" (top two lights, then bottom two lights, then back), the Hub is not connecting to the network. Either the Hub has not been properly initialized (by attaching it to an Internet-connected router until the top light comes on and stays on) or the Hub is completely out of range of the nearest Hub (improve the line-of-sight to the next Hub)

If you cannot see the lights

You can access the web server on the Hub by using any browser on any device connected to your home network. You can find the Hub's private IP address on your AyrMesh.com dashboard:

You can see that my Hub is at 10.0.0.133, so I type that into the URL bar of a browser on my computer. If the Hub is working on the network, the Hub prompts for a username and password; this is your AyrMesh.com username and password. Then you'll see a webpage like this:

(we have obscured the MAC addresses for security)

First, the fact that you can see the webpage means that your Hub is connected and working properly. If the Hub DOESN'T respond, then your Hub may not be working or may no longer be attached to your network. Check its power supply and, if it's a Gateway Hub, its connection to your router. You can look at your router's DHCP table (sometimes called a "client table" to see if your Hub is receiving a private IP address from your router.

If you have Remote Hubs, you will see the signal strength to the nearest Hub displayed; if that number is lower than -80 or so (note that, since the numbers are negative, higher numbers are smaller; -81 is a lower signal than -80) then the signal may be too low. Second, you can see the "Site Survey." This allows you to see if there are local WiFi access points interfering with your Hub. As you can see, I have a device called "AyrMesh Router" that has an EXTREMELY loud signal (-8 dB, unsurprising since they are literally sitting next to each other in my test lab), but it is transmitting on channel 1 and my Hub is transmitting on channel 7, so they are not interfering with each other.

Second, check to see if the Hub is transmitting WiFi.

It takes about a minute for the Hub to boot, so it won't start transmitting right away after getting power. If the lights are on but the WiFi is not transmitting, the problem is almost certainly that the Ethernet cable between the power supply and the Hub is not providing enough voltage to the Hub. Usually, this means that the cable is not made of 100% copper wires and needs to be replaced. Re-test the Hub on one of the 10' cables included with the Hub.

Make sure to check the Power Supply - if the light on the power supply is off or is pulsating or blinking, the Power Supply is bad and needs to be replaced. Contact Ayrstone Support to see if you are eligible for a replacement; you can also buy the power supplies off-the-shelf. Check the voltage of the power supply and make sure you buy one with the right voltage.

Third, if the Hub is transmitting WiFi, try to connect to it.

If you cannot connect to the Hub, either your computer/phone/tablet is misconfigured (must be set up to get an automatic IP address via DHCP) or the Hub is not getting an IP address from the router to which it is connected.

If you can connect to the Hub but you cannot access the Internet, then either the router is not connected to the Internet or the router is blocking the Hub from the Internet.

If the signal from the Hub seems low, make sure the Hub is mounted with the antenna pointed straight up and that there are no obstacles between the Hub and your device. Note that a "normal" wood-stud wall or a tree will approximately halve the range of the Hub. Note also that some devices are "calibrated" relative to a normal 100 mW WiFi access point, and that they sometimes go slightly nuts if they're close to the Hub, which is 30-40x as powerful. If you are getting "2 bars" of signal when you're next to the Hub, don't worry - it may be trying to tell you that it's seeing "7 out of a possible 5" bars.

Still not working?

If your Hub is still not working correctly, email support@ayrstone.com or open a case here and include the following information:

Your ayrmesh.com username (not password)

The MAC address of the Hub

Exactly what the Hub is doing: what lights are on, whether the WiFi is on, whether you can access the Internet when you are connected to the WiFi, and whether the Hub is checking in to ayrmesh.com